


Star Trek Endeavor - Frozen in Time

by ElizabethMontarre



Category: Star Trek
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 13:15:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17142428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElizabethMontarre/pseuds/ElizabethMontarre
Summary: Captain Elizabeth Montarre and her crew begin their voyage on the USS Endeavor and discover a planet that appears to be frozen in time. The Captain of the Endeavor has to figure out what happened to the planet while managing the underlying hostility from the crew.(Yes, this story is made up of original characters, but give it a chance! Please?)





	Star Trek Endeavor - Frozen in Time

**Author's Note:**

> Star Trek Endeavor is an original story by me which takes place in the Star Trek Universe some time after Star Trek Voyager. This is the first "episode" of sorts, so there will be more to come! Let me know what you think about the characters and plot in the comments - I appreciate all constructive feedback!

“Captain’s Log, stardate 5442.3: This will be the first official entry in the crew logs. the Endeavor is a ship worth its title, but it’s crew? I don’t doubt their potential. To bring out that potential though… it may take a miracle.” Captain Elizabeth Montarre glanced around her quarters once more, and finished, “End log.” She stood, and straightening the Starfleet badge on her uniform - a Captain’s uniform - she headed for the bridge.

Commander Richard Carey wasn’t as nervous as he should have been. The Captain of the Endeavour was a woman in her thirties, only a few years younger than him, but far less experienced. He expected her to agree with him at all times, and he would do anything to keep it that way. He’d been demoted from Captain when Starfleet had given Montarre the command, and he was still sour about it. A woman, younger than him, weaker than him, and less experienced given command over him? He sighed. It would be one long trip to the Beta quadrant.

The door to the bridge slid open, and Montarre exited her ready room, her posture impeccable, and her face showing no fear or uncertainty. She strode to the Captain’s chair and sat, wondering what the bridge crew thought of her. Commander… Carey, was his name, wasn’t it? Commander Carey sat beside her, his face giving no hint that he was displeased. She had heard the rumors about his demotion. How he’d almost captained the Endeavor, but was demoted at the last moment to put her in the Captain’s seat. Montarre could already tell this would be a long trip.

One by one, the bridge crew filed in, saluting the Montarre, and giving a slightly more respectful look to Carey. Their prejudice did not go unnoticed by either officer. The last to file in was the pilot. A woman in her twenties, and she mumbled her name to the Captain, saluting with her eyes downcast, then glanced toward Carey before hurrying to her post. 

“Lieutenant Hastings.” Carey noted to Montarre.

“The pilot. I’ve read through the files of every crew member on this ship. Rest assured, Commander, I know my pilot’s name,” Montarre replied, putting emphasis on the word _Commander_. 

Carey, sensing that the Captain knew more about him than she let on, returned to checking the data displayed on the screen in between the command chairs. Montarre picked up a padd, scanning it for relevant information. The ship rocked, and Carey knew instantly that they were about to leave the Space Station. He stood, and told Lieutenant Hastings, “Set a course for coordinates 423.5 mark seven, warp eight.” He turned to Montarre, and sensing her displeasure at him taking command, added, “unless the Captain has a different opinion,”

“Not at all, Commander. You know the mission data just as well as I do, I hope.” Montarre stood, and noticed the silence of the bridge crew. They were all watching Carey and her. As she glanced from one officer to the next, she noticed that they all avoided eye contact. _They think Carey should be Captain_. She thought. _It’s up to me to prove them wrong_.

“I’ll be in my ready room,” She announced, her expression apathetic towards the general opinion. She returned the way she’d entered just minutes before, and her stride was the same, her head still held high.

* * *

It was nearly midnight when the first transmission came through. Carey was asleep, and his combadge was on the other side of the room. Montarre, on the other hand, was in her ready room, still trying to figure out the relation between Carey and the other officers. Her combadge chirped, and Lieutenant Hastings spoke. “Hastings to the Captain.”

“Go ahead.” Montarre replied, wondering why anyone would need her at this hour.

“Captain, we’re receiving a transmission from a nearby system.”

“Take us out of warp. I’m on my way.” Montarre stood, and exited her ready room. She was surprised to find that Commander Carey was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s the Commander?” She asked the tactical officer - Lieutenant-Commander Sterns. 

“He is asleep. As most of the crew is at the moment. It’s zero-hundred hours, Captain.” Sterns appeared to be defending Carey - of course. She’d likely tried to contact him first.

“No one notified him?” Montarre turned to the rest of the bridge crew, all of whom avoided eye contact again. They’d all tried to notify him. She would still be in that ready room if they’d succeeded. After an awkward pause, she continued, “Even First Officers need their sleep, I suppose. What sort of transmission was intercepted?”

“It’s a beacon of some sort,” Sterns replied in an apathetic voice. She was half Vulcan, so it made perfect sense, but even Vulcans were friendlier than this to their Captain.

“Onscreen,” Montarre instructed. The screen in the front of the bridge showed a small capsule, about half the size of an escape pod, floating in space. “Magnify.” The screen magnified to show a small wire- some sort of pattern enhancer- sticking out of what seemed to be the top of the capsule. 

“Captain, the transmission’s been decoded.” Sterns projected an image of a human on the screen.

“Play it.” Montarre sat, bracing herself for the worst.

“If you’re receiving this, you’ve entered a dangerous area of space. My crew’s gone missing, and I don’t know where. This place takes people from where they should be and leaves no trace. Leave now, before it’s too late.” The message played out, and then the human stopped talking. The image faded to static.

“Any idea when it was sent?” Montarre asked Sterns.

“We have one reading… but it isn’t logical. This type of technology didn’t exist until a few years ago.”

“What’s the reading?” Montarre sighed. It would be difficult to get anything from these officers unless Carey told them to do so.

“According to our sensors, the message was sent over three hundred years ago.”

* * *

By 0700, the senior officers were assembled in the conference room to discuss the issue.

“Send a shuttle to the system to collect data. We’ll eject a probe at the site that the beacon was launched from.” Carey instructed.

“Absolutely not. Whatever is in that system, it’s going to take more than a probe to learn about. I want three away teams to beam down to the surface of the planet and collect data. We’ll keep a transport lock on every crewman down there. Hastings, Licheart, you’re with me. Sterns, you’ll take Kim and Chassing. Carey, take Johnson and Killamont. Report back to Endeavor once you’ve collected sufficient data. If you find yourselves in any danger, I’ll have all transporters ready for a beam out on your command. Clear?” Montarre noted the expressions of the officers. Everyone appeared to question her orders, until Carey nodded.

“Crystal.” He nodded to the other officers, who all murmured in assent. They filed out, muttering to each other. Only Carey remained. The icy silence that separated the two of them was uncomfortable, but neither was willing to speak.

Montarre, realizing that something had to be said, turned to Carey, and with her most commanding voice, informed him, “You may be older and more experienced, but around here, the Captain is in charge. And that’s me. Agreed?”

Carey was shocked. Montarre had dared to stand up to him. He nodded without realizing it, and moved away from her.

“Dismissed.” Montarre had only just realized that the primary reason he disliked her wasn’t that she was in charge of him. It was that she was in charge of him, and she was younger, less experienced, weaker, shorter, you name it. He thought she was a meek little girl.

* * *

At 0900, the away teams departed. Montarre had purposely selected the officers least likely to betray her, because she was fairly certain that if they ran into trouble, she’d be the first sacrificed. The teams beamed down into what appeared to be the central city on the largest continent. There was no light, and everything was dusty. The first thing Montarre noticed was the silence, and lack of life forms. It was an entirely uninhabited city, except for the away teams. The silence was unsettling, as was the fact that everything appeared to be left out. Hovercrafts were stopped at traffic lights, doors were open, and inside the doors, books lay on tables, their bookmarks still in. Chairs were out, as if whoever sat in them last had just disappeared. It was as though time had stopped, leaving the city frozen in the moment. The only evidence that it had been that way for a long time was the occasional cobweb, and the thin coat of dust that covered everything. Montarre had only just entered a small office in the central complex when her combadge chirped. 

“Captain, away team number two is gone. They’ve just… disappeared.” Hastings spoke through the badge, her tone urgent.

Montarre froze where she stood. Her first day on the Endeavor, and… “Number two. The Commander… Carey was on that team, wasn’t he?” She replied in a tone that only barely kept the alarm out of her voice.

“Yes… Captain.” Hastings confirmed in a voice that suggested she was speaking to her worst enemy.

“Get the other teams out, yourself included. I’m going to figure out where they went.” Montarre ordered, knowing that Hastings would abandon her in a heartbeat.

“Yes Captain. Good luck.” From where she stood in the complex, Hastings could only make out Montarre’s distant figure, but it was enough to confirm that Montarre wasn’t going anywhere. Hastings was beamed out with the rest of the away teams, and as she returned to the bridge, she had only one thought - _Montarre knew he would disappear. She wanted him to die_.

Montarre watched as the away teams were beamed up, leaving only her on the planet. She told herself not to feel guilty about losing the away team. They were some of the least loyal crew members. It didn’t work. Only hours before, she’d challenged her First Officer’s belief about his command position. She was right, of course, but in that moment, she’d essentially ordered them to their fate… which she was fearful might have been death. _Starfleet will forgive this. They’ll forgive me. The Endeavor’s crew can forgive me. But me? I’ll never be able to forgive myself._ She steeled herself against what the awful truth might be, and started out toward the site of away team two’s disappearance, her tricorder recording data, and her phaser ready to fire.

* * *

It was a day later when Montarre returned to the ship, dejected and empty handed. No trace could be found of the crew. She was beamed up, overworked and exhausted, by Hastings, who had been waiting for any news. The chief medical officer of the Endeavor, Lieutenant Colin Chassing, met her in sickbay.

“Sit,” He instructed, gesturing toward a sickbed near his workstation.

Montarre reluctantly complied, made a weak attempt at convincing him she was alright. “I really don’t need any treatment, Lieutenant.”

Chassing smiled knowingly. “When was the last time you slept? Or sat down to eat anything?”  
“Oh… I ate this morning. I’m fine. Really,” Montarre replied, doing her best to sound okay, and failing miserably.

“When did you last sleep?” Chassing took out a medical tricorder, and began scanning her head, as was usual protocol.

“Three days ago, if you must know.” Montarre admitted, feeling substantially weaker than when she’d entered sickbay.

“Even Captains need to sleep, you know. Get some rest, and eat a proper meal. You’ve done enough.” 

“I’m fine. I just need to figure out what happened to Carey, and his team, and I’ll be better.” 

“Permission to speak freely?” Chassing requested.

“Permission granted.” Montarre sighed reluctantly.

“You’ve overworked yourself. You’re right that the crew likes Carey. He’s a typical Starfleet officer. Strong, tall, authoritative, and some of the crew would even say handsome. But he’s not the Captain. You are, and you shouldn’t have to prove anything about that. This crew may like Carey better, but they’ll obey you. In time, they’ll learn to like you.” Chassing finished, and then added, “The Chief Medical Officer outranks the Captain in medical situations. Get some rest, Captain. That’s an order.”

Montarre smiled just enough to let Chassing know she was grateful, and stood. She thanked him for his time, and began the long walk to her quarters.

Chassing watched as she left, smiling. He’d served under Carey for a few years, and felt an intense loyalty to him, but he was willing to follow Montarre’s orders. _She’s disrespected by this entire crew. If Carey doesn’t return, she’ll fail to keep control of the Endeavor._

* * *

Montarre was almost asleep when her combadge pinged.

“Sterns to the Captain.” Lieutenant-Commander Sterns’s voice came out of the combadge, jolting Montarre from her nearly restful state.

“Is something wrong, Lieutenant-Commander?” Montarre asked, picking up the combadge, and heading for the bridge.

She was on the bridge before Sterns replied, and she found the bridge officers all hunched over the tactical station. “Lieutenant-Commander Sterns, what’s going on?”

Sterns looked up and spoke. “We received a transmission from the missing away team. It contains the data they collected, and a cry for help.”

“Can you locate the source of the transmission?” Montarre inquired, hurrying to tactical as the other officers stepped back to let her pass.

“Yes, but there’s one issue…”

“Oh?”

“The transmission was sent over three hundred years ago.”


End file.
